Ted Gregory

Ted Gregory
No. 74
Position:Defensive tackle
Personal information
Born: (1965-02-11) February 11, 1965 (age 59)
Queens, New York, U.S.
Height:6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Weight:260 lb (118 kg)
Career information
High school:East Islip (Islip Terrace, New York)
College:Syracuse
NFL draft:1988 / round: 1 / pick: 26
Career history
 * Offseason and/or practice squad member only
Career highlights and awards
Career NFL statistics
Sacks:1.0
Stats at Pro Football Reference

Theodore Anthony Gregory (born February 11, 1965) is an American former professional football player who was a defensive tackle for one season with the New Orleans Saints of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Syracuse Orangemen, earning consensus All-American honors in 1987. Gregory was selected in the first round of the 1988 NFL draft by the Denver Broncos.[1] He listed his height as 6'1".[2] However, a shocked Dan Reeves, who is also listed as 6'1"[3] commented, "I'm taller than he is!" upon meeting Gregory after the draft. By Reeves's estimate, Gregory was closer to 5'9".[4]

Gregory had injured his knee in his last collegiate game, and the knee gave out during training camp. Following scathing criticism from the press for wasting a pick on damaged goods, the Broncos traded him to the Saints for Shawn Knight before the season.[5] He is now regarded as one of the biggest draft busts in Broncos' history.[6] After the Gregory incident the Broncos began meeting with potential draft picks prior to the draft, a practice they had not previously engaged in.[citation needed]

Gregory blew out his knee in his third game with the Saints, and never played in the NFL again. After a series of failed business ventures drained his life savings, he took a job as a construction worker, only to have that end due to a ruptured disc in his back that temporarily rendered him a paraplegic.[5] Gregory placed 8th in Deadspin's "The 100 Worst NFL Players of All Time".[7]

  1. ^ "1988 NFL Draft Listing". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved September 24, 2023.
  2. ^ "Ted Gregory, NT at". Nfl.com. Retrieved November 23, 2010.
  3. ^ "Dan Reeves Past Stats, Statistics, History, and Awards". databaseFootball.com. January 19, 1944. Archived from the original on October 23, 2012. Retrieved November 23, 2010.
  4. ^ Pearlman, Jeff. The 100 Worst Players in NFL History, part 2. Deadspin, 2010-11-16.
  5. ^ a b Cimini, Rich. "Glory Days to Ugly Daze". New York Daily News. Archived from the original on April 15, 2011. Retrieved September 21, 2012.
  6. ^ "Biggest draft bust ever for all 32 NFL teams at". ESPN.com. April 13, 2017. Retrieved April 13, 2017.
  7. ^ The Bottom 100: The Worst Players in NFL History. Deadspin. Retrieved August 14, 2014.